FPS Gun Diversity?

[triggrhappy94]

I've noticed that most FPS are focused on assault rifles. Before you say it, I know there's options for other guns and often times missions will have you start out with a different gun. But you can't deny: for the majority of the game you're going to be using an assault rifle.
I haven't seen a good multiplayer map that focuses on other guns since The Block from MW1.
Why can't we have games where you're supose to use shotguns or sniper rifles (Sniper: Shadow Warrior doesn't count) most of the time.
For additional discussion: Is this a good idea? Anything other people would like to add on?

Yes those are situational weapons, but isn't it up to the game designer to make the levels. Just set them up so its more practical to use a different gun

 

[Radeonx]

One of the main reasons is that games try to push realism and assault rifles give the most action while still maintaining the most realism.
At least that's what I've gathered.

 

[therockdemon]

a assault rifle is a good all rounder of power, fire rate and accuracy that will suit most player styles.

 

[Elamdri]

It's because in CoD, and all CoD clone games, you die in about 3 hits from a gun.

Sniper Rifles are not ideal because the raise time on the guns is SLOW and most of the maps are not ideal for sniping, which means that the 1 shot kill benefit isn't that useful.

Submachine Guns are not ideal because at range they tend to take an extra 1-2 bullets to kill, and aren't quite as accurate as the assault rifles. Furthermore, they tend to have similar rates of fire to the assault rifles.

Shotguns aren't as ideal because many of the maps have very LONG lanes of foot traffic, so it's hard to get into the close range needed to get the shotgun kill, and even then, you often run into instances where you need two shotgun blasts to kill an opponent.

LMGs are about the closest you can get to Assault rifles in CoD, with the benefit being LMG damage doesn't drop off at range. However you move MUCH slower with an LMG. Since most modern FPS gunfights happen at medium range, having your weapon be a 3 hit kill at long range rather than a 4 hit kill isn't that beneficial compared to increased mobility.

EDIT: I will say this. What really makes CoD and it's clones frustrating is the lack of any real kick or bullet spread on the gun. You can pretty much take any Assault rifle and full-auto someone across the map and expect phenomenal accuracy. Now, that would be fine in a game where it takes 6+ shots to kill someone, but when you're dealing with a game where 3 shots is the standard, it's no wonder that everyone uses assault rifles.

 

[Reishadowen]

Well, an assault rifle IS basically your bread & butter gun. It does long range burst/tap-fires, and it has full auto for taking out everything in a small room like an SMG. Sure, sniper rifles and shotguns are better for their own purpose respectively, but that's two guns, instead of just carrying around one. If you ever give a player to choose which one gun they want the most, they are going to pick the assault rifle most of the time unless it's a team game with multiple players, like Team Fortress 2 or something.

Second, I HAVE seen some games base around Sniper Rifles or Shotguns, thing is, most of them are arcade shooters. House of the dead has shotgun controllers, Silent Scope has a sniper rifle controller, and every other shooter (EVER) has either pistol or uzi-themed controllers.

Third, I do agree, that I'd like to see a few more games built specifically, around using a shotgun or sniper rifle. Silent scope was all about being a sniper, why can't we have a breach & clear shotgun-based game?

 

[Anachronism]

This is why I like older, sillier FPSes where realism wasn't really a priority. Take Quake II, for instance. Your default weapon is probably going to end up being either the double-barrelled shotgun or the rocket launcher. I'll say that again.

Your default weapon could well be the rocket launcher.

 

[Sozac]

idk in black ops the main guns used are the ak74u, famas, and the mp5k i think. I don't see sidearms used a lot, but my main ones are rocket launcher and dual pythons. Truth is fps games really differ on this kind of stuff a lot. In Counterstrike the ump was a joke weapon used by bots that took like a full clip to kill someone and shot as slow as a mule, but in COD MW2 it was the most overpowered gun in the game. Or you could say it was just underpowered in CS.

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

Because as far as balance is concerned, the assault rifle is the best gun for the player to use. It generally has the most balanced stats, with decent damage, firerate, reload, accuracy, range, and can handle both close range and long range, where as a shotgun or SMG would have trouble with longer ranges, a heavy machine gun would take forever to reload and would be inaccurate, and a sniper would generally be terrible at close range and be harder to use.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Because the majority of developers seem to be under the impression that the average FPS gamer has the attention span of a 13yo who has ADHD. Therefore, a long succession of enemies eager to reduce your silhouette by virtue of holes is generally the way to go about dealing with this 'problem'.

I've played Sniper: Elite and can't find another game remotely close to it in gameplay quality. That said, I enjoy Unreal 3 (no, don't look at me like that) and will by default use the shock rifle, no weapon is better (actually, apart from the link gun, I don't think there's an assault rifle equivalent). *shrug*

 

[xMelior]

Because both the sniper rifle and the shotgun are situationall weapons (long/close range), while the assault rifle is the most ballanced, being perfect for mid range targets

 

[Psycho Cat Industries]

Plain and simple,your assault rifle is an all around weapon,proves superior to many other weapon systems carried by the individual in most situations,obsoletes semi-auto rifles as much as I hate to say that,proves a good room clearer,and is pretty common now a days.

 

[CleverNickname]

This annoys me so much. I use the shotgun for most of the game normally, and a good shooter will be designed so it works most of the time - just as for other guns.

Or a minigun, or a rocket launcher, or the pistol/sniper hybrid that attaches to your eye in Prey.

Oh, I'm sorry, have I lost you, talking about something besides pixellated advertisments for US military service?